The “rebranding” was also in line with the merging of the Higher Education and the Education ministries, said Prof Zaini.

“We wanted to synergise the ministries and blueprints. The new blueprint builds on our education aspirations,” he said, adding that it was “important to have similar aspirations across a system”.

The right man for the job

Prof Zaini’s experience as vice-chancellor of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) for five years before joining the ministry made him the right candidate as the blueprint’s main author.

Having served as special officer to Najib who was Education Minister from 1997 to 1998, Prof Zaini was involved in higher education policy matters, particularly the corporatisation of public universities.

He is also believed to be the youngest person to head a Malaysian public university.

Under Prof Zaini’s leadership at UTM, many programmes were implemented that made the university in Skudai, Johor, one of the top higher education centres in the country.

These included an endowment programme to help the students financially as well as fund research and other projects.

So, it came as no surprise, then, that Prof Zaini’s contributions to the blueprint coincide with his previous efforts.

“In the ministry, not many people have an overview of the whole education system,” he said.

Prof Zaini added that he was fortunate to have “been in both positions”, allowing him to see the total picture.

“My favourite parts of the blueprint are of course the parts I contributed to. I was the lead author for chapters Five, Six and 10,” he said.

Prof Zaini was referring to the chapters on financial sustainability, empowered governance and transformation of higher education.

Looking ahead

Under the blueprint, an annual report is scheduled to be released to “track the progress and outcomes”, he said.

However, he declined to reveal more information until the announcement by Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Mohd Yassin in June.

“The public can look forward to more information on how the annual reports will be compiled then,” said Prof Zaini.

Asked about the likelihood of the blueprint being a success, he responded positively.

He said the initiatives (see table) “are things the ministry can definitely implement”.

“The ministry does not ‘promise the sky’ with this blueprint.

“This is a very realistic blueprint where we know our potential. I am very optimistic,” he said.